The 49ers got the kind of play that can change a game in one snap, then watched the afternoon turn on them anyway.
Mike Evans was active for Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals after being listed questionable with a hip injury from the previous week, and he immediately mattered. He and Deebo Samuel connected on an 82-yard hook-and-lateral touchdown, a burst that helped San Francisco build a comfortable lead while it was still early.
Then the game changed.
Evans was carted to the locker room in the second quarter after being tended to by the medical staff, and he was ruled out with a rib injury. He had three receptions for 34 yards before going down. For a team trying to get to 3-0, the loss came at the exact moment the offense had seemed to settle in.
The concern did not stop there. Shortly after halftime, Trent Williams was also carted off the field. Reports said he suffered a stinger and was questionable to return, widening the uncertainty from one position group to another.
That is what made the sequence so jarring for San Francisco: the same game that featured a long touchdown and a promising start also became another reminder of how quickly availability can unravel. Evans had already been working through injury questions after the hip issue in Week 2, and his status for Sunday had been a relief for a roster that has been dealing with injuries all season.
The 49ers’ injury list has already been deep enough to affect the shape of the roster. Ricky Pearsall is out for the year after knee surgery, and CBS Sports noted that Evans became the fourth San Francisco player to be carted to the locker room this season. In a game the 49ers were comfortably ahead in, that kind of attrition is hard to ignore.
For a stretch, though, the offense showed exactly what it can look like when its key pieces are on the field together. Evans’ connection with Samuel produced the 82-yard score, and his early involvement helped San Francisco establish control before the injuries started stacking up.
What came next was the more familiar storyline for the 49ers: a promising start, then another round of questions about who will still be available when the next drive begins.